Thanks Phil! What a great idea about the egg crate carry on. I am definitely an amateur and I am still trying to get my head around the 2x adaptor you are talking about. I am very fortunate that we are going on a mostly walking safari (guided of course!) so I won't have to worry about anyone getting fussy I don't think - my biggest worry now is that I've never handled a lense of this size and I don't want to bite off more than we can chew BUT I did go on a vanilla safari back in 2007 and that was the advice that I came out of that trip with - exactly what you said about who cares about the clothes it's all about the lense. I don't want to be a cling on but I will PM you about the 2x adaptor thing. Many thanks for such a quick response! Have a fantastic trip to Zambia - you are a brave one to be self driving! We will be in Zimbabwe.
Any other tips are most welcome!
Kelly